Informational constraints on optimal sex allocation in ants

被引:104
作者
Boomsma, JJ
Nielsen, J
Sundström, L
Oldham, NJ
Tentschert, J
Petersen, HC
Morgan, ED
机构
[1] Univ Copenhagen, Inst Zool, Dept Populat Ecol, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
[2] Aarhus Univ, Inst Biol Sci, Dept Ecol & Genet, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
[3] Univ Helsinki, Dept Systemat & Ecol, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland
[4] Univ Keele, Dept Chem, Keele ST5 5BG, Staffs, England
[5] Univ So Denmark, Dept Stat, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark
关键词
split sex ratios; inclusive fitness; chemical recognition; cuticular hydrocarbons; nepotism;
D O I
10.1073/pnas.1430283100
中图分类号
O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];
学科分类号
07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;
摘要
Workers of the ant Formica truncorum specialize in rearing females or males depending on the number of fathers of a colony. These split sex ratios increase inclusive fitness, but it has remained unknown how workers assess the number of patrilines in their colonies and to what extent their reproductive decisions are constrained by lack of information. By analysis of the quantitative variation in cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of workers of multiply mated queens, we show that the heritable component of recognition cues is low and that the extent of sex ratio biasing toward males is correlated with patriline differences in hydrocarbon profiles. Workers are thus able to capitalize on colony-level relatedness asymmetry, but their inclusive fitness is constrained by uninformative recognition cues. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the occasional expression of nepotistic phenotypes favoring full-sisters over half-sisters maintains selection against informative recognition cues. We evaluate how inclusive fitness theory may be used to predict the number and kind of recognition cues in insect societies of a specific relatedness structure.
引用
收藏
页码:8799 / 8804
页数:6
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